Sorry to hear man. Same sort of thing happened to me a few years ago. The course was less than 2 miles from house, and was just closed one day. Always thought someone would buy it and re-open, but it's just overgrown now.

It's becoming all to common. I've driven past a few times and they are maintaining it. Perhaps not to a playable level, but they are not totally letting it go. That told me that they hoped to sell it. It really is a great course that I would put up to many other renowned private clubs. I played TPC MI earlier this summer and would say the condition of this course is (was actually) above what I experienced at TPC on the course. The clubhouse wasn't quite up to that level, but the course certainly was.

I just learned today that my favorite course (Eagleglen) from my time in Anchorage, AK has closed this year. That course did an amazing job of connecting you with the raw, unbridled power of nature. Tragic.

I've never been a member at a golf club but I know that if I paid for a membership which entitled me to play golf for a year then I would expect my money back and if I paid shares then I would want those back as well. Its not the players fault that the current owner or potentially the new owner didn't like the amount of members that signed up or lack there of. Was a refund given?

Dayton has some pretty nice courses and some goat tracks of course, but mostly decent munis and private clubs. NCR CC is really nice and hosted the Senior US Open in 2005 and CC of the North is too. It used to host an LPGA event that was lost to Toledo I think. The (then) Nationwide tour had a stop here at Yankee Trace (public) back in the 90s. We have a great selection of private clubs and Gem City/Greene CC was listed at #5 by the Dayton Business Journal. Give me a shout if you're ever in the area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrownCoast

I've never been a member at a golf club but I know that if I paid for a membership which entitled me to play golf for a year then I would expect my money back and if I paid shares then I would want those back as well. Its not the players fault that the current owner or potentially the new owner didn't like the amount of members that signed up or lack there of. Was a refund given?

The law suits are definitely lining up. The guy who screwed everyone will have to spend a fortune defending his actions.

It is a shame. The course across from my work closed and it is shocking how fast it becomes overgrown.
It will probably become "Semi Private", I have seen the one here. It is like almost a virgin ;)

I've chalked my money off, but if others start winning lawsuits, I might jump in the fray. He owns other businesses in town, so he isn't really a rock. Apparently he ran the club into deep debt, so it sounds like he was spending their money instead of his. Not sure how that works. I hoping the new owners reach out to previous members and offer them a deal to come back. If not, they'll be fighting an uphill battle.

Here in Miami, if a course closes it's due to the real estate being too valuable - developers make them an offer they can't refuse. Over the years we've lost a bunch of good courses that way. We really are under-represented now; if you look at Miami-Dade County, there's only a handful of public courses...and then you go to the likes of Doral or Turnberry.